How the uninformed views a deluxe

[RustManFan]

I love doing the travel research and do so wherever I travel. For all my WDW trips so far I have done little pre-planning but know I will need to in 2016.

You can't blame the hotel or Disney if you didn't know what to expect. Did the guy ever hear of this little thing called the internet?

 

[gdrj]

International or not some of the concerns would be addressed by doing basic research. If I was traveling internationally I would be more likely to research since the time and money would be greater. If traveling internationally I can't imagine not using a TA who is familiar with where I am traveling to, especially if I have never been there.

As far as dining, even during peak times, I have always been able to get into somewhere by adjusting my time. If he did not look for Dinner arrangements until the day of... well international or not, he is clueless. Now can I get into Chef Mickey's or Be Our Guest, nope. But I have been able to secure reservations at Artist's Point, or the Wave with less notice, not to mention DTD, or the Swan and Dolphin. I have some Dining reservations for July BUT I can almost gtd that I will cancel them while I am there and schedule somewhere else because our plans will change. When we were there for XMAS in 2013 I changed almost every reservation except for Xmas Eve at Boma. thats why you always want to look the day before you want to eat somewhere that might be booked.

As far as Deluxe Hotels others have spoken to it. location, location location. If you want a level of service that would be of a 5 star hotel go to Four Seasons and with a park view at $899 or a suite starting at $1200 that accommodates 2 adults and 2 children. By the way add $40.00 to include breakfast with your room. Of course you can't step out of your room and walk or boat to a Park or take the monorail from your hotel, that is what you are paying for. I believe I'm preaching to the choir here. With that said Deluxe Hotel room pricing is crazy, but supply and demand, will allow pricing to be what it is.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I love to read reviews!! I write reviews all the time and love hearing how others view a restaurant or hotel.

It was this review that really caught my attention. It's about a particular deluxe hotel at Disney. I'm switching up details to disguise the author, but suffice it to say they felt very disappointed and I have to admit, I felt compassion as I read along. I truly had not realized just how different our disney experiences can be. Without the research, one can step onsite and not partake in much of the magic. This poor fella came during Christmas and didn't have dinner reservations. Anywhere. He also didn't know he would be standing in line for rides. I was surprised when I read this but I did wonder if there is anything in the literature he would have received that does say that ADRs are 100% necessary during holidays. I am sure the lit DOES recommend making reservations but maybe he didn't read it. And sir, you CAN be a VIP. This is an example of what can happen when you don't do the research.

Read along and see how far one can depart from all of the knowledge we have acquired.

I was really disappointed about this Hotel being a deluxe Disney hotel.
Not only was it very expensive but the rooms were too small.
I was expecting much more Disney decorated rooms or the possibility to get theme rooms.

Christmas time everything was fully booked... also restaurants. We had to have our Christmas dinner in the room. The Hotel should tell before how it is and recommend their guests to reserve a restaurant.

Also they should inform you before about restaurants and attractions in the park, for example dining with the beast in Be Our Guest has 6 months wait to get a reservations.

I think you should be able to buy as a Hotel Guest a VIP card for all attractions, now you can get only 2 or 3 fast passes a day, again not fair for those who spent money on a nice hotel and have to stand in line most of the day.

The food is terrible for this kind of standard Hotel, poor breakfast for European people, no cold cuts like ham or salami or a decent cheese, for kids you have American pancakes with all kind of toppings and even sweets, not very healthy, my children had more sugar in the time we stayed there than they get in the whole year at home.

Breakfast with the Disney figures like Tigger etc, it's a must when you have kids but they only stay a very little tiny moment at your table and if you're kids don't speak English they stay less.

Restaurant food poor as well, I was expecting much better quality from Disney.

There is a pool outside the water was ice cold don't understand they don't put a warming system in, no children playground which I found unbelievable being a Disney Hotel ( a pirate boat climbing frame with pirate of the Caribbean statues) no Disney figure statues in the Hotel or gardens.

Disney you could make this Hotel so much nicer and unforgettable only using a bit more imagination.
Make sure you get a room overlooking the Magic Kingdom Park if you want to use this Hotel.
I will not come back to this Hotel

When in Rome--

Some of his complaints I understand. The ones I don't seem to involve is lack of rudimentary research regarding ADRs, I believe they are suggested when they are mentioned. I find it hard to believe they were never mentioned.

Food quality? Okay--that is subjective...

But complaining about what Americans consider breakfast? We don't typically do cold cuts here for breakfast anywhere. It may appear at brunches to make a sandwich. But it is typically a lunch offering. This is not Disney's doing. But what I have noticed living in this country for 40 years. Also--somehow, my children avoid pancakes with sugary stuff as their only option. We preach protein and often they will have eggs.

And the pools are heated--I agree they could be warmer, but they aren't really intended to feel hot. Rather, they just make it possible to swim in winter.

Poor guy. I think he had some unrealistic expectations for his visit to America.

 

[Luckybee]

To be fair I can understand why he might have been disappointed. The first time we stayed CL at Animal Kingdom Lodge it left us with a sour taste in our mouths towards Disney Deluxes. It isn't as though there was anything "wrong" with the property or the service. It was simply that the service wasn't anywhere close to what we had and continue to have at "deluxe" properties elsewhere. If one does travel at a deluxe level elsewhere and then comes to Disney expecting that same level at a deluxe they will, inevitably feel let down. Only if one adjusts their expectations and realize going in that "deluxe" is about the location and not the service will that not happen. Unfortunately not everyone knows that. We didn't at the time and we were not happy. We tried a D deluxe one further time and again we were not happy. So we don't do them any longer but we are staying at the Poly with friends in May(just for the first few days of our trip), and going in Im expecting the equivalent of a typical Marriott or Sheraton now. I don't expect a deluxe and I've adjusted my expectations accordingly.

Let me give a couple of examples from some of the complaints he had. When we stayed at the Viceroy in Anguilla I wasn't crazy about the breakfast offerings on the buffet and mentioned that to our server. The server was asking me what I liked and I happen to mention that I had a fondness for a particular style of egg dish. The next day it was waiting for me on arrival. I've never been at a deluxe anywhere other than Disney when the concierge cant do anything to get someone in a hard to get restaurant even on short notice, even on a holiday. At a 4 seasons I complimented the server on the little meringues that were brought out with the bill and told her I loved Meringue....by the time we got to our room there were a plate of meringues waiting. And on and on I can go.

One of the posters indicated that the op was sounded "entitled". Imho when one pays "deluxe" rates, and has normal "deluxe" experiences then of course they feel "entitled" to get what they think they are paying for. If no one tells them that Disney hotels are not "deluxes" in the real world sense of "deluxe" then how would they know ?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm on a FB forum for moms. A lady in there posted the other day about her neighbor that had her assistant book here trip for her. The neighbor offered advice, the lady didn't have time for that.

Fast forward to three days into the trip and the lady and her family hadn't left the resort yet (AKL), had only eaten counter service, and didn't understand there are four parks. She called the neighbor mad and confused that no one had told her what was up. She didn't even know how many park days she had or PH or not. She went to the front desk and had 8 days of PH. The bad thing is the assistant will probably get in trouble for not planning stuff out.

In 3 days they didn't look at any of the literature in their check in packet?

 

[WDWOswald]

1. Disney deluxe hotel rooms are comically small for the price ($600+/ night at the grand Floridian)
Not really. I've stayed in deluxe hotels on Madison Ave in Manhattan, and my rooms were smaller than any WDW deluxe.

2. Although reservations are commonly needed many places- you can call the day of or night before and get a reservation. At disney this isn't true of almost all of their more popular restaraunts.
And a small amount of research would have revealed this fact and afforded the opportunity to make reservations in advance.

3. When you pay the price disney wants for a deluxe you should receive world class service and a concierge should take care to make sure you have a teriffic experience as a foreigner.
Are you saying that foreigners should be treated better than Americans at WDW???

4. All deluxe hotels should include at least a continental breakfast for their guests. Hampton Inn can do this for $120 a night but Disney can't for 4 times the price? Really?
Many non-Disney deluxe hotels don't include breakfast.

5. Restaraunt food often is poor considering the price paid. Expensive character buffets feature quick service quality breakfast and lunch options. Chef Mickey's charges way too much to offer such a poor spread.
The food prices unfortunately, are driven by demand. One could classify all of the Disney restaurants as inside-the-park eateries, with the associated high prices.

6. Disney commercials show incredible character interaction that is so far from reality that anyone would be surprised at how limited it often is in person.
And Subway commercials show sandwiches that look far better than the one you actually get when you eat there. That's advertising. Not saying it's right.

7. Deluxe hotel guests should be offered a different tier of in park experiences- more fast passes etc.
You might have a point here, though others will surely disagree.

8. Rooms should all be more in line with the royal guest rooms at port Orleans and less in line with the bland themes of hotels like the beach clubbed bay lake tower. Guests expect a disney experience at a disney resort, and the deluxe resorts could push this immersion more without it being garish or uncomfortable.
I think the rooms should reflect the theme of the hotel, and for the most part they do. If one wants 24-hour Disney in your face, then stay at a value that offers that experience.

9. People are ridiculous and the parks and hotels are so overwhelmingly incredible and so filled with wonder and joy that it should amaze you to the point that you forget about all this stuff and just have lovely memories from a place that nowhere else on earth can compare to.
Agreed!

I respect your points and they are solid. Comparing central Florida hotels to nyc hotels is a stretch- apples to oranges. Still, $600 will get you a room at the plaza with your own personal butler for the night or an amazing room at the trump tower or ritz Carlton. I understand the point about research ahead of time for restaraunts but Disney should do more to inform foreign guests. I think concierge should do more for both domestic and foreign guests because they have very limited usefulness currently. Many non-disney hotels obviously do not offer breakfast but many do. Disney would prefer to push their outrageous dining plan that offers too much food at too high of a price. The dining plan also makes out of pocket expenses artificially high. As for the rooms- honestly there isn't that much to complain about but I wish there was a deluxe version of all star movies.

 

[StrawberryTink]

There's clearly a lot of hate for international travelers on this thread, so being from England I'm going to throw in my opinion on this matter.

I have no sympathy for anyone who doesn't plan their holiday, no matter where it is. Although i won't try and justify belittling them on social media. I have been to WDW a number of times and i adore planning and therefore i do. When i went in 2011 my partner did not want to plan anything, he'd been in the days where you didn't have to, he wanted to wake up and see what we fancied. I'd been addicted to Disboards and went behind his back and planned some ADR's, day plans, room request directly with POR and i bought tickets for MVMCP. Thankfully i did this, otherwise we would have not experienced MVMCP or the ADR's. He thanked me massively for the work I'd put into the holiday.

With Disney resorts you are paying for the Disney name and depending on how close it is to the parks. In England, pretty much the same depending on what you want to be close to and which City you are in. However the price is ridiculous for Disney property in comparison to fabulous beautiful hotels in England (way better than GF, Swan, BW you name it). Hotels that do include gorgeous breakfasts, cooked how you want, whatever you want. Fresh delicious not swarming with diabetes and heart failure foods. However if that's what you want, they can also provide you with that. And we're far too polite to make out how stupid you are (I'm using this term liberally to mean whatever nationality you are) for not knowing every detail beforehand. Really good ones like the prices you pay in Disney would have an evening meal and the spa treatments included and all of the pools are heated, not just the 'main' one! And paying deluxe prices would get you a lot more than it does in Disney.

As for the Christmas Day meal issue, i feel awful for this guy and his family, how can so many people just take for granted and belittle this person, considering how many cultures and religions go on in USA is it any wonder this person didn't think they'd have to book 6 months in advance? If this trip was booked 4 weeks before his trip is he still an idiot? Also what happens if this family has put everything money wise into this trip (expecting everything taken care of like it would be in Europe) the reality shock will be massive. Non USA visitors really do need more support from their local travel agents (who need educating massively) to appreciate this huge difference. I can assure you.

As a 'foreigner' last year i was super excited to get our Magic Bands, all my literature from Disney stated they would be sent to my home address and the dates i needed to make sure i had them personalised for, otherwise they'd be plain old grey (which don't take offensive, grey is lovely, but i wanted a pink one) I have emailed documents from The Walt Disney World Travel Company that actually states this. It was only from reading Disbaords that i found other English guests actually weren't getting bands sent to them, instead we'd have to pick them up at our resort, which is a bit of a pain flying 4760 miles and 20+ hours to arrive and have to go to your holiday before you can even get into a park. Huge disappointment, if i were American i'd have the privilege of getting them through the post. So now you're saying well if you've just done that trip why aren't you checking straight in, because I've flown through the night and i want to go to sleep, now.

I went to Chef Mickeys (which was a lot of money for cold fatty bacon and Mickey waffles) because my husband and i didn't have children (or so it seemed) the characters barely spent any time with us, after what seemed like they avoided us and i had to ask our server if they would be coming to us and she had to go and speak to a CM to make sure they visited us. I paid more cash than a child did, i have the right to meet chef Mickey too, so why should i miss out on that experience? I don't care how many kids are screaming for chef Mickey that just walked in the restaurant. Fare is fare. But not always with Disney. You will see that all the time. I

From what I'm reading here, it just seems like a large portion of people are patriotic and think this guy wrote about his disappointing experience to upset and personally offend American's. A lot of people here seem to have taken his words and interpreted what he actually means. Unless someone says those words should we be so quick to assume that's what they're trying to say.

Now I've given a few of my experiences, feel free to let loose!!

I have had more good experiences than bad with Disney, for that i am grateful!!

 

[Jing]

Really good ones like the prices you pay in Disney would have an evening meal and the spa treatments included and all of the pools are heated, not just the 'main' one! And paying deluxe prices would get you a lot more than it does in Disney.

I have been to several countries in Europe, and I remember breakfast was always included (count me as an American who will take meats and cheese over waffles and pancakes for breakfast). That is an expectation. In the US, generally it is the traveler class of hotel brand (think "_____ Inn/Suits") that includes breakfast, whereas the higher-end within a brand does not. A lot of Americans don't realize this, so I am not surprised European travelers are unaware.

Last time we crossed the pond we stayed in the Four Seasons in London, which is quite the definition of deluxe. We did not get dinner and spa treatments included, so I'm side-eying the statement above. The only "all inclusives" I have ever stayed in were in beach resorts and the only ones I remember including spa treatments were spa destinations.

 

[Brian Noble]

I have a different take than many of you on this review. I think the reviewer is spot on about his observations:

4. All deluxe hotels should include at least a continental breakfast for their guests. Hampton Inn can do this for $120 a night but Disney can't for 4 times the price? Really?

7. Deluxe hotel guests should be offered a different tier of in park experiences- more fast passes etc.

While I agree with you, the two above are the only ones that are offered at Disneyland Paris. It's not an EU vs. US thing, it's a Disney vs. the rest of the world thing. And, #7 is only for those staying at the Disneyland hotel, not the others, IIRC.

I will say though that the breakfast at the Sequoia Lodge was a welcome addition.

 

[IrishNYC]

There's clearly a lot of hate for international travelers on this thread, so being from England I'm going to throw in my opinion on this matter.

I have no sympathy for anyone who doesn't plan their holiday, no matter where it is. Although i won't try and justify belittling them on social media. I have been to WDW a number of times and i adore planning and therefore i do. When i went in 2011 my partner did not want to plan anything, he'd been in the days where you didn't have to, he wanted to wake up and see what we fancied. I'd been addicted to Disboards and went behind his back and planned some ADR's, day plans, room request directly with POR and i bought tickets for MVMCP. Thankfully i did this, otherwise we would have not experienced MVMCP or the ADR's. He thanked me massively for the work I'd put into the holiday.

With Disney resorts you are paying for the Disney name and depending on how close it is to the parks. In England, pretty much the same depending on what you want to be close to and which City you are in. However the price is ridiculous for Disney property in comparison to fabulous beautiful hotels in England (way better than GF, Swan, BW you name it). Hotels that do include gorgeous breakfasts, cooked how you want, whatever you want. Fresh delicious not swarming with diabetes and heart failure foods. However if that's what you want, they can also provide you with that. And we're far too polite to make out how stupid you are (I'm using this term liberally to mean whatever nationality you are) for not knowing every detail beforehand. Really good ones like the prices you pay in Disney would have an evening meal and the spa treatments included and all of the pools are heated, not just the 'main' one! And paying deluxe prices would get you a lot more than it does in Disney.

As for the Christmas Day meal issue, i feel awful for this guy and his family, how can so many people just take for granted and belittle this person, considering how many cultures and religions go on in USA is it any wonder this person didn't think they'd have to book 6 months in advance? If this trip was booked 4 weeks before his trip is he still an idiot? Also what happens if this family has put everything money wise into this trip (expecting everything taken care of like it would be in Europe) the reality shock will be massive. Non USA visitors really do need more support from their local travel agents (who need educating massively) to appreciate this huge difference. I can assure you.

As a 'foreigner' last year i was super excited to get our Magic Bands, all my literature from Disney stated they would be sent to my home address and the dates i needed to make sure i had them personalised for, otherwise they'd be plain old grey (which don't take offensive, grey is lovely, but i wanted a pink one) I have emailed documents from The Walt Disney World Travel Company that actually states this. It was only from reading Disbaords that i found other English guests actually weren't getting bands sent to them, instead we'd have to pick them up at our resort, which is a bit of a pain flying 4760 miles and 20+ hours to arrive and have to go to your holiday before you can even get into a park. Huge disappointment, if i were American i'd have the privilege of getting them through the post. So now you're saying well if you've just done that trip why aren't you checking straight in, because I've flown through the night and i want to go to sleep, now.

I went to Chef Mickeys (which was a lot of money for cold fatty bacon and Mickey waffles) because my husband and i didn't have children (or so it seemed) the characters barely spent any time with us, after what seemed like they avoided us and i had to ask our server if they would be coming to us and she had to go and speak to a CM to make sure they visited us. I paid more cash than a child did, i have the right to meet chef Mickey too, so why should i miss out on that experience? I don't care how many kids are screaming for chef Mickey that just walked in the restaurant. Fare is fare. But not always with Disney. You will see that all the time. I

From what I'm reading here, it just seems like a large portion of people are patriotic and think this guy wrote about his disappointing experience to upset and personally offend American's. A lot of people here seem to have taken his words and interpreted what he actually means. Unless someone says those words should we be so quick to assume that's what they're trying to say.

Now I've given a few of my experiences, feel free to let loose!!

I have had more good experiences than bad with Disney, for that i am grateful!!

I don't think anyone here is expressing hatred for international travelers, most are just frustrated by his unfair bad review that's due in large part to his lack of even the smallest bit of research. Are Disney hotel prices (as well as everything else) ridiculous? Absolutely! But it's what you get. I'm not expecting Four Seasons or Waldorf Astoria treatment at a Disney hotel. But, that's because I've done my research. Same with the food. You even said yourself that hotels in England serve much better breakfasts. Yes, they do. Because it's in England and you're getting an English breakfast. Disney World is in the US and what you get for breakfast is our style of breakfast. Yes, we have many cultures here, but Disney isn't the place to experience all those different cultures. Heck, I'm from NYC. I don't go anywhere else in the country and expect to even get a good bagel. I expect to eat according to local culture and traditions, including the culture and tradition of Disney when I'm there.

 

[Luckybee]

I don't think anyone here is expressing hatred for international travelers, most are just frustrated by his unfair bad review that's due in large part to his lack of even the smallest bit of research. Are Disney hotel prices (as well as everything else) ridiculous? Absolutely! But it's what you get. I'm not expecting Four Seasons or Waldorf Astoria treatment at a Disney hotel. But, that's because I've done my research.

And that in a nutshell is what many are trying to say on this thread but imho is not the issue. Isnt the problem the way that Disney markets their hotels? I mean if their properties were anywhere else and people were finding that deluxe was not deluxe there would be an outcry of foul. Why should the unsuspecting tourist have to do research to find out that , "well yes we call them deluxe but really it is deluxe only because we're at Disney and well we're close to the parks"...really??? If I am told that a hotel is a deluxe property, and Im paying deluxe property prices, then I do expect a 4 S or a Waldorf and the service and amenities that go along with same. Now on the other hand if they didn't market it in that fashion it wouldn't create that type of false expectation and the unsuspecting would then have a choice of paying higher prices for the location and not have false expectations.
To suggest the person "do research" is not the answer. Not everyone, even those who do "research" will look at message boards esp those for whom English is not their first language. And if one doesn't look at message boards where else would they get the info that "yes, you are paying for a deluxe, but no...you aren't really getting one"

 

[Annchristine65]

Imagine the nerve of serving American pancakes in America. LOL

 

[IrishNYC]

And that in a nutshell is what many are trying to say on this thread but imho is not the issue. Isnt the problem the way that Disney markets their hotels? I mean if their properties were anywhere else and people were finding that deluxe was not deluxe there would be an outcry of foul. Why should the unsuspecting tourist have to do research to find out that , well yes we call them deluxe but really it is deluxe only because we're at Disney and well we're close to the parks...really???

I have no problem understanding the difference between Disney deluxe and real world deluxe. Maybe I'm just a more savvy traveler? It doesn't take much to figure it out, and I'm certainly no Disney expert - I haven't been to WDW since 1981. When we chose our hotel for our upcoming trip we looked online to see what our choices were, and choose AoA because DD loves Little Mermaid. When it came time to book no rooms were available. We looked again, and I really wanted to stay at AKL, but couldn't justify the price for a savannah view, nor for any other type when I factored in travel time. I've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary, but couldn't justify those prices, either. Sure, it's great to walk to MK, and have a variety of choices for transportation anywhere else, but still, not for the price and the amount of time in the hotel. We decided on CBR for price and location. The amenities are truly just about the same between all resorts, with the exception of transportation options. Different pools, some have water slides, some don't, they all have different decor, but other that that, there isn't a huge difference other than theme, and looking at a few room pics would have answered that question for him.

It didn't take much to compare the resorts we were interested in, and we didn't read too deeply into it, just enough to see if it looked nice enough to us. Unless the reviewer in OP's post just told a TA "book me the best room at a Disney resort" and did no research at all of his own, he only has himself to blame for not knowing what he was getting.

 

[Luckybee]

I have no problem understanding the difference between Disney deluxe and real world deluxe. Maybe I'm just a more savvy traveler? It doesn't take much to figure it out, and I'm certainly no Disney expert - I haven't been to WDW since 1981. When we chose our hotel for our upcoming trip we looked online to see what our choices were, and choose AoA because DD loves Little Mermaid. When it came time to book no rooms were available. We looked again, and I really wanted to stay at AKL, but couldn't justify the price for a savannah view, nor for any other type when I factored in travel time. I've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary, but couldn't justify those prices, either. Sure, it's great to walk to MK, and have a variety of choices for transportation anywhere else, but still, not for the price and the amount of time in the hotel. We decided on CBR for price and location. The amenities are truly just about the same between all resorts, with the exception of transportation options. Different pools, some have water slides, some don't, they all have different decor, but other that that, there isn't a huge difference other than theme, and looking at a few room pics would have answered that question for him.

It didn't take much to compare the resorts we were interested in, and we didn't read too deeply into it, just enough to see if it looked nice enough to us. Unless the reviewer in OP's post just told a TA "book me the best room at a Disney resort" and did no research at all of his own, he only has himself to blame for not knowing what he was getting.

Well perhaps I'm just an unsavvy traveler , one who has stayed at some of the best "deluxe properties" all over the world and who on our first onsite stay chose a property (Akl -CL level) that on the surface looked like a deluxe, was described as a deluxe, purported to have amenities as a deluxe, but unfortunately didn't quack like a deluxe. We didn't purchase for the "location" since we were not staying within walking distance of the parks. We purchased because of the "deluxe " title (and the animals). We got the animals. That's all !
In everything you wrote no where did you describe how the unsuspecting non savvy tourist would be able to "figure it out". By looking at a few room pictures ? Décor? water slides? Or perhaps the "savvy traveler" really doesn't get the difference between deluxe and non deluxe after all.

 

[JasonMouse]

This reminds me of an older couple standing in line at the Canada beer stand, with the most heart breaking voice, gasped slowly, "7 dollars" as they began to dig out cash out of their fanny pack - that would be his one beer for the day. Those people I feel bad for because they have to choose and plan carefully. The guy who hated their $600 / night room, not so much. Get a new travel agent.

 

[Luckybee]

Out of curiosity..I just looked at some of the Disney marketing. From the website FAQ :

Q.

What options does my party have if we want to stay at a Disney Resort hotel during our visit?


A.

There are currently more than 25 Disney Resort hotel locations to pick from when staying at Walt Disney World Resort, from budget-conscious value Resort hotels to our luxurious deluxe Resort hotels

Note the words "luxurious deluxe resort hotels"

Again from the website referencing deluxe hotels:

"Experience the ultimate in Disney luxury, style and service"

Where in doing the research do I find out that the "ultimate" in Disney luxury style and service is different than the rest of the worlds. Perhaps people shouldn't be so hard on the OP for actually believing what Disney says.

 

[Luckybee]

This reminds me of an older couple standing in line at the Canada beer stand, with the most heart breaking voice, gasped slowly, "7 dollars" as they began to dig out cash out of their fanny pack - that would be his one beer for the day. Those people I feel bad for because they have to choose and plan carefully. The guy who hated their $600 / night room, not so much. Get a new travel agent.

Because he can afford the $600 a night room he isn't entitled to get what he thinks he's paying for ? So the person who has to budget is entitled to be surprised but the not the person with cash....wow talk about a double standard.

 

[pjhootch]

Yeah, I feel for him. He paid a lot of money and had a rough trip that didn't live up to his hopes and expectations. Like that seriously hasn't happened to people on this board? Come on, we've all read the posts from uber planners that believe their trip is ruined because they can't get a meet and greet fast pass or find the correct princess dress for their two year old. Those folks get sympathy...

Sure, he could have learned more before he arrived and it probably would have made his trip more enjoyable. On the other hand, many MANY people think they ARE planning because they very thoroughly explore the Disney site. Its all relative. Even when people find a site like this it takes hours of reading before some things start to sink in. So he could have planned better. Absolutely. But I totally agree with the other folks that there is really no comparison between Disney "deluxe" and other deluxe "resorts".

 

[ZebraDomeCrazy]

Just like everyone here, we are planning experts. I do remember our first trip about 17 years ago, we were also clueless. We didn't get to see hardly anything, and even back then, had trouble getting dinner. Nowadays, anyone I know who even hints about going to Disney for the first time, I jump in and offer to help. Whether it's lending them books or videos, etc, or one on one time planning, I really want to help. So many times when I speak of adr's or fast passes, they look at me like I'm crazy. It's a shame how much money is potentially wasted by people. Disney is such a complex place, it really does need an education before going. I'm not saying I feel sorry for those reviewers, but I can certainly see how it can happen, and I'm sure it happens much more often than we would like to believe.

 

[parismeow]

It kinda makes me sad to read the comments on people who say that the guy should be upset about service, but should understand that the deluxes aren't "deluxe" as they could be.
As a person who works in a 5 star hotel, it makes me upset to think that disney are loosing points for service, particularly in a "deluxe" hotel. I love working in the hotel i work in, and it makes me happy to greet people and talk to guests and help them plan their days or fix their problems and its such a shame that it is evident that cast members at disney are not feeling the same way. It really speaks poorly on the Disney corporation in my eyes. Disney should focus on getting back to that 5 star service and inspiring their cast members to make peoples days. Perhaps its the little pay? i don't know. It just makes me sad.
I have never been to Disney World but this makes me a little worried to think that this may be the case. It is nothing that would ruin a holiday though.

I still love disney, and i always will. Just something observed from the posts above.